# Straightdope in China?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 21, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147 "2004-04-21T02:22:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/1 "2004-04-21T02:22:24Z")
Does the Straightdope Board find it’s way to the mass of Internet connected computers in China or does the Chinese government block message boards with varied political content like Straightdope? Just curious since I’ve never noticed a Straightdope member who indicated they were located in China.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/2 "2004-04-21T02:32:40Z")
There are several posters located in China. I believe the SDMB is accessible from China without using a proxy but lately the Chinese have been closing access to more and more foreign sites and even proxies which are not blocked are getting harder to find. I am thinking of looking into the possibility of running a proxy myself so my friends in China could access outside sites. I figure if it’s used by just a few it would not be blocked.
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### Author:  [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/3 "2004-04-21T02:52:21Z")
I was in China last month and was able to access the SDMB from multiple public internet cafes.
Wasn’t able to access [groups.google.com](http://groups.google.com), though.
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### Author:  [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/4 "2004-04-21T02:54:58Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#):
>
> Just curious since I’ve never noticed a Straightdope member who indicated they were located in China.
You never noticed **China Guy**?
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/5 "2004-04-21T03:41:03Z")
Live baby and never used a proxy.
i can’t offhand tell you what sites are blocked beyond geocities. Google got snatched for about a week and I posted it here on the SDMB. There may be specific newspapers, but all the wire services are no problem.
Let’s put it this way, as a pretty active user of the internet, I have not had enough problems accessing sites that I even know of a valid proxy.
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### Author:  [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/6 "2004-04-21T04:08:43Z")
> [@cckerberos](#):
>
> You never noticed **China Guy**?
Well. ------ Ummm. _cough_ Ahhh. I suppose that make me look pretty silly. 🙂 Hello **China Guy** - And many thanks one and all. Good-bye.
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### Author:  [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/7 "2004-04-21T04:15:32Z")
> [@China Guy](#):
>
> i can’t offhand tell you what sites are blocked beyond geocities. Google got snatched for about a week and I posted it here on the SDMB. There may be specific newspapers, but all the wire services are no problem.
My friend wasn’t able to access BBC news, but that was the only other site we noticed as blocked.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/8 "2004-04-21T05:38:19Z")
Doesn’t all this firewall probing increase the risk of midnight knocks on the door?
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/9 "2004-04-21T10:04:40Z")
IIRC many western news sites are blocked. Also, Geocities, tripod and other such sites of personal content are generally blocked. It used to be extremely easy to bypass the block with a proxy and that is what my friends did but lately proxies are blocked as soon as they are found out.
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Doesn’t all this firewall probing increase the risk of midnight knocks on the door?
Nah. Contrary to what many people think, people in China do not live in constant fear of the government and, in any case, it would be impossible to monitor millions and millions of computer users. I forget where I read words to the effect that “China is a ruthless dictatorship moderated by near-total chaos”.
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### Author:  [@frank\_zafka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frank_zafka)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/10 "2004-04-21T10:24:04Z")
I am posting from China. As a matter of fact, I usually never have the long waits accessing the boards other dopers describe from time to time.
The Knight-Ridder newspapers, along with aforementioned BBC and geocities are usually blocked.
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### Author:  [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/11 "2004-04-21T11:56:58Z")
No problem from this corner of China - but then we’re different. From what I hear, English message boards (there’s a HK-based one called icered with a lot of Chine-specific discussion) are largely left alone. The Chinese language ones are rigorously monitored and censored.
My site is a Geocities one, so the poor wretches are deprived of my brilliance. Pray for them.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2004, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/12 "2004-04-21T13:04:54Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> IIRC many western news sites are blocked.
that may be the case, but as I posted earlier one can freely access all of the wire services. Right now I’m pulling up the yahoo front page and checking the wire services (AP, AFP, reuters, bloomberg, washington post, USA Today, LA times, chicago trib, US News and World Report, www.bbc.co.uh, SCMP, etc). Everyone of these suckers just worked, so if there is censorship they ain’t trying very hard. 🆒
Now, I’d have to pay attention, but for a week around June 4 CNN goes off the air. I distinctly remember this in 1999. Can’t say I noticed last year - could have been the case but then again maybe not.
like I posted earlier, I haven’t found enough blocked sites to bother finding a proxy. On the other hand, my biggest problem is with trojans and malware.
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/13 "2004-04-23T07:49:44Z")
Posting from Beijing, he says: “Hi, ChinaGuy!” (waving in the general direction of Shanghi).
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2004, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/14 "2004-04-23T12:22:50Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#):
>
> Posting from Beijing, he says: “Hi, ChinaGuy!” (waving in the general direction of Shanghi).
Howdy, I’m in Beijing next week. Might even have an evening free on Wed. Normally I work like a dog when I’m on the road and then have to entertain…
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2004, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/15 "2004-04-24T10:39:17Z")
Well bust my britches. Let me know if that free time opens up. We’ll meet somewhere!
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/16 "2004-04-24T21:28:47Z")
do you have a contact number or email in Beijing?
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/17 "2004-04-24T22:42:41Z")
> [@China Guy](#):
>
> do you have a contact number or email in Beijing?
[dennis\_pelton@hotmail.com](mailto:dennis_pelton@hotmail.com)
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/18 "2004-04-25T00:30:18Z")
I can see why the BBC, maybe, but why block geocities?
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/19 "2004-04-25T01:47:32Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I can see why the BBC, maybe, but why block geocities?
I’ve always wondered about this(I’m in China also). I figure they must have had a few anti-China sites and so they cut it off. Angelfire also.
I can’t get [cbs.com](http://cbs.com) and a few other networks, but almost everything else works.
I also will be in Beijing on May 3 and 4. A Beijing Dopefest?
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-in-china/241147/20 "2004-04-25T06:28:27Z")
I’m in Beijing next week, and then in sw Zhejiang that first week of May, so I’ve got to miss Mahaloth
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